Aku, have you had any word from Eric recently. Looks like his last post was on Thursday?
I'm worried to suggest it, but we may want to look at recruiting another player or two... Aldencross makes a reasonably easy opening to add new players, Cardinal sending in reinforcements or some such thing.
Just seems that for real life reasons or otherwise that the posting rate of some of the players has dropped pretty dramatically lately.
I can't really say anything, as I haven't exactly been posting up a storm lately. : /
I do apologize. I have been struggling to find time to log in (granted the wind storms over the past week knocked my internet out twice both for my house and at work). My phone doesn't like the new format Paizo set-up for the forums and can't log-in from there.
My feelings won't be hurt with a replacement or two. I'll tyr to keep up until one is found.
Hey, I just wanted to say that I'll be going on a business trip this week. I should be able to post (and in fact might be able to post more) but my posting time will be a little more erratic, mostly in the later evening EST.
Do you mind Aku if I watch the recruitment thread? Curious to see who we could be bringing in, plus I just love some of the character concepts that come out cause of this campaign.
Sorry my posting hasn't been very active of late. I had a change of teams at work and things have been very hectic but now things should be back to normal again. :)
Just confirming we are slowing down just while we are waiting on re-recruitment to finish correct? Not sure whether I should still be posting the assumed amount per day or wait till this weekend. Seems like everyone is kinda in standby atm
I've been waiting to see more conversation or world reaction. Just my .02.
As have I, but seems to be a rather slow rate atm, so was curious if there was reasoning behind it. Assumed it had something to do with the re-recruitment... I imagine we would want the new players to start fairly early on within Aldencross.
fair enough, ya I too am hoping the pace picks up substantially after the recruitment. Outside of weekends and those dastardly early morning runs you like to go on when I show up with 20 missed posts cause i'm still asleep, those I'm okay with not reappearing... though I do enjoy them at times.
Haha. I work in a night shift. Usually there's not much to do, that's why mornings runs (if someone is awake :D)
lol fair enough. My job allows a ton of freedom to post. so from 8-4 everyday I can post pretty much at will most days, outside that my post rate drops to almost zero.
I have bits and pieces of time during work, and then large amounts of time usually just after 10 PM EST.
So random otherwise, my initial view on the submissions to join (cause i'm bored at work during the day so creep on that thread something fierce). Obviously Aku the decision is yours just my views being given at this point.
Mysty: I like, think she would fit right in.
Kung Moon: cool concept, character is growing on me.
born_of_fires concept: umm ya...so...I really don't like his character. His villian does seem to be the mastermind genius you respect and fear, more the a**hole that you can't wait to see die in the movie cause he's just creepy. we may have to look into PvP rules if his character is accepted. With Nahia and me, a guy that gets off on controlling and hurting woman just is not a good fit for this party in my views... He would be put in his place very quickly. Plus submitting an urban ranger when an urban ranger was listed as one of three returning characters worries me about how much he reads vs. skims.
and I think that's it for completed submissions at this point, hoping we get the slew of last minute ones tomorrow.
Well of course he couldn't resist. Besides, for all we know his wife is a shrew. No reason he can't sit around and enjoy the eye candy. : )
And talking about the submissions, I'll echo Serens comments.
Mysty I like, though I do have some concerns about party balance with have 3 spellcasters. Of course, if you don't mind (DM Aku) then that doesn't matter.
Kung Moon is a cool concept, and this could be a campaign that would work well for a Monk, even into the later levels (which is pretty unusual).
And I see that born_of_fire withdrew his character after hearing about us, which is good.
One thing that might be good is to remind everyone that their character concept is more important than having their crunch done.
umm, do we have any word on Zerik? He has kinda disappeared this week. Are we looking at replacing still just Eric? Is Zerik still around somewhere?
Trying to get a feel for what sorts of characters we are looking to recruit.
np. I think people worry about being forgotten if they post too early in recruitments threads of something.... I don't know how many I've been in where there is like 3 submissions and then in the last 48 hours all of a sudden there is like 20. Though some of the new submissions are really intriguing.
Seren's early Favourites:
Mysty - The timing is just perfect...An arsonist thief, just as we are trying to sneak into the watchtower and basically burn it to the ground.
Lady Rose - cause the backstory is awesome, and her character seems like a really good fit with Nahia and Seren. She wasn't lying, the RP potential here is just massive.
These two are my favourites atm mostly because I can see Seren having some great RP potential with both of them.
Others I Like:
Moloc Romoth - Not wickedly evil, but definetly not good, cool concept.
Fausto - Again great concept.
Edit: Does everyone really want to be an anti-paladin?!? I think we have more Anti-paladins then everything else combined...
@Seren I got ya, you want a all woman party! Naughty girl!
I don't know what it is but it seems every time people make a male villian they assume they have to be a brute or the sleeze-ball creepy villian.
Give me a guy that makes a villian like Ozymandias from watchmen or Owlman from Earth-3 and they can break my favourites list.
Give me a male concept that is into evil for the sake of being evil, not to beat up people or validate being disgusting.
Kung was actually a great concept, but as you mentioned concerns over his crunch and background and he hasn't done anything to mention or fix it he's dropped lower down my list of favourite. His character just screams min/max optimization, i mean really 3 archetypes of monk? Who taught him three different ways to be a monk + another class on top of it.
Sourat Vi'Sapor was close but then he got all into debased, fat congressmen, and I lost the interest for him. Would have kept it at ambitions, and calculating it would have been great. Gluttonous and addictive - and now I've lost interest.
... But I'm gluttonous and addictive... :_:
perhaps, but at least since we've played I wouldn't call gluttonous and addictive defining characteristics of Nahia. Personality quirks sure, but Nahia has always come across to me as more Manipulative, and conniving with a love for the good things in life.
That was my intention with her, yes. Glad it has come across that way. : )
Ok, updated comments:
Fausto - I like his setup alot. From a fluff perspective, his personality fits well, and I am liking his style of evil, at least from what I have seen.
From a crunch perspective, a strong melee-er is always welcome, and an inquisitor is always nice.
Mysty - Seren is right on the money on this one, you couldn't ask for better timing and her personality seems right on point for us. Also, her written work seems pretty good, so I would expect some good RP. Also, who doesn't love halflings (kender don't count)?
From a crunch perspective, I already mentioned about having another spellcaster (and rogue) in the party.
Lady Rose - I'm not as sure about this one as Seren is. I could see the RP going very well or very badly. Hard for me to tell at this point, but I'm leaning towards very well. That said, she is still very high up there for me.
From a crunch perspective, again, a storng melee-er is always welcome. Also, having a melee lady could be interesting too.
Moloc - I like this concept too. This could be interesting. Though, I would like to hear more about his desires and goals, other than just revenge. Of course, being singly focused on revenge (if purposeful) could be very interesting too.
Kazul - There is some possibility here, but is half-orc too monstrous for this campaign? Would have liked to hear more about his characters story.
Can I use your feedback into the recruitment thread?
I have no issues with you using my comments
Feel free to use mine too!
Also, I'm back from my trip now!
Okay, my dear evil sirs! I do not think that someone else will apply in the recruitment before it ends, anyway, I would like to hear your choices on the matter.
I want your top 4 best choices and why you choose then. Am I asking much? :D
lol sounds good. I'll have my choices by some point this afternoon. Want to take the time to re-read everyone background, etc and see which ones really stand out to me.
Agreed. I'll post my stuff up tonight, EST.
So I lied as Seren sometimes does, I was too intrigued and needing to read the stories like right now.
My first thought when picking would be why the Cardinal would have sent them to aid us at Aldencross. This whole campaign has been built on RP and having reasoning behind choices and the Cardinal sending us someone who wouldn't seem to aid us or have a connection in some way to benefit us/himself got crossed off as story breaking, plus trying the best to not have contradictory backstories.
Mysty - Rogue that plays with Fire, amazing concept, and valuable addition to our team in this assault.
Lady Rose - She is my wild card.
Reason for Lady Rose: backstory puts a human element on the Cardinal and the knot, brings an interesting new dynamic into play that is unique to this character and her backstory. Also loved how she altered the story to deal with the burning of Brandescar prison. Her crunch needs some work, but the overall concept and possibilities for the campaign with this character got her my vote.
Fausto - Great background and concept. Plus his knowledge of the Mitran knights would be welcome when trying to dismantle a Mitran stronghold. So well timed as well.
Sourat Vi'Sapor - Still in awe about his backstory. Wish he would have gone with something that wasn't rape, but I understand it's place in an evil campaign. Plus the potential to use disease would also be something I could see the Cardinal thinking would be valuable in Aldencross.
Order of Escape from Salt Mines-
1) Sourat Vi'Sapor (to give sufficient time to heal, plus no one died during the escape, in fact blame could be shifted to Mitran priest so no alarms raised).
2) Lady Rose (could be blamed on guard being stupid and falling for her seduction, he is in her clothes after all, basically served him right. Plus no direct killings so still no additional suspicions or alarms raised.)
Next two happen concurrently:
3a) Mysty - Beheaded guard Distraction, Let's assume this is discovered before she can slip out of the mine completely (she's somewhere in the courtyard when it's discovered). Fire in courtyard to distract guards from Fausto and her escape.
3b) Fausto - A burned beheaded guard would be sufficient reason to whisk Marissa to the surface along with Fausto. Inmates seeing turmoil, use key given by Lady Rose to try escape as guards are distracted, give the guards reason to turn around and try and quell the action in the mine, while leaving Marissa above ground. Fausto kills her, and leaves to escape. Mysty sets fire to the pens, should give guards sufficient distraction to give both of them ample time to escape.
Everyone free and clear, with no impending guards chasing them. Only Marissa, and one guard dead (plus one who I'm sure is beaten badly and heckled wildly by his fellow guards for falling for an inmate). So someone at the mine would get chastised heavily about the escapes, but they may deem the escaped inmates are just not worth the cost with so many still locked up, and only minor loss of life.
For more reasoning behind my choices:
Mysty – I love this one. Just an awesome concept, and well timed.
Vashkaji –I like it, but he seems more dedicated, driven soldier then necessarily evil, I could see him being a Mitran soldier just as easily as an Asmodean one if the situation was different on the boat.
Kung Moon – This just scream power munchkin in the extreme. Interesting backstory but not enough to overlook this.
Victor Argustine – Background fails to mention the mine, which was stated right off the bat.
Lady Rose – This is my wildcard. I like her, not sure why, but I just love the concept. Just straight up always have been, always will be evil type thing.
Cedric – Feels like too quickly an about change from good to bad. Don’t get me wrong I know Seren has a similar story but I at least recognized outside influence. And why would the church not look into assassination of one of its paladins? That seems to be a viable threat to the church? Too many questions for me.
Moloc – Okay I can see it. Didn’t quite speak to me but good concept.
Kazul the Bear – Enhh. It’s okay, not really anything fancy. Plus Cardinal would have likely seeded him in with Sakkarot versus in Aldencross with us.
Whaykim Panuvel – okay concept. Not sure that this seedy underbelly he lived in actually exists in Talingarde. I doubt slaver’s would take the risk in coming here, but I can forgive that. Additional issue: why would the cardinal send him here? We are taking out a fort the likes of trying to build an empire in a month is unlikely. Unfortunately it’s also just bad timing as well on his story, as we don’t need a bureaucrat right now.
Fausto – I like him. Solid Concept. For sure one of the four. Hating Mitran knights as works well with the RP portion of where we are in the story. This is like THE mitran stronghold, and his knowledge of the knights would be invaluable.
Sourat Vi’Sapor – Okay wow. Got to give him props this is a great story. I absolutely abhor rape but I understand its entry in an evil campaign, and the rest of the story was well written. I can see a proponent of disease being valuable at this point in the campaign, though I am curious how much control he has over this. Seren isn’t worried (with my crazy disease saves) but what about Nahia?
Azin Orlind – I actually like this character. Solid background, though I would have liked to know how he learned to turn his hands to claws (via. Abyssal Heritage) as it isn’t mentioned in backstory. and if you can turn your hands in claws. why steal the sword? Too defining a trait for the character to not mention how and why.
Myras – Okay Concept, but why would he want to worm his way in society? He seems like a character that was bullied his whole life. Why bring in that level of scrutiny? Why not just wheel and deal to make life better for himself? I can’t see the crunch at work so No idea’s on that one (myth-weaver is banned).
Davor Elan – Enhh. Not a huge fan, plus backstory is faulty (still brandescar mines).
Ok, sorry this took too long.
Like Seren, I tried to look at why the characters would be here, why with us, etc. I also tried to think about how the characters would fit in and what kind of style the poster seems to have. It was kind of a tough choice, and in a lot of ways I found myself agreeing with Seren, though differing on a point or two.
Also, we're apparently trying to turn this into a Harem game. : )
Anyway, ere are my four, in order:
- Lady Rose -
Ok, this one has really grown on me. I like her adaptation to escaping the mines, well, more like how she wrote it. I could see a lot of potential RP here as well. Also, Doomed Hero (the player) looks to have a really good history with pbps.
- Mysty -
Once again, I like her backstory a lot. I think she would fit in well with the party and her skills and knowledge make a lot of sense for this part of the game. I just think the RP with her could be super awesome if things go well with us.
- Sourat -
Ok, that backstory is amazingly well written. I am envious. I like his vision, I like his description, and I like his story points. Also, someone else who eats people! Maybe we’ll bicker over the choicest parts?
I do wish he followed Asmodeus, but it isn’t a requirement, and it could be interesting anyway.
Also, do not worry about me and his diseases. I should be able to cure them very soon. I would say he could too, except that his deity might not like that so much...
- Fausto -
I like Fausto a lot. He has a good concept that is well described and well put together. I think his personality is a good fit with everyone else.
- Vashkaji -
Same as Seren. I don’t really see evil, just bloodthirsty. And there was no mention of the salt mines. Also, a bit monster-ish for Talingarde.
- Kung Moon -
I liked the concept, but yeah, he hasn’t been too responsive. I’m a little more forgiving with come of the class combinations (really, there is no reason for every monk to not be a qinggong monk, though the single level of fighter at level 4 instead of 1 is a little suspicious). Again, agreed with Seren, interesting concept, but not enough to get past some of the other issues.
- Victor Argustine -
No mention of the mine. Still has his “escaped from Brandescar” story. Overall ok, but nothing especially exciting either.
- Cedric -
I’m not quite as harsh as Seren on this one. While it was a little shortly described in the write-up, I could see this story happening in a campaign. However, I have an issue with his declaration of Evil. He says “...bring about order and tyranny…” and I usually don’t like evil for the sake of evil. Most tyrants believe that they are doing the right thing, and at least I still think that follows in Asmodeus’ theology.
- Moloc -
Again, I like the concept, but he skimped out a bit on describing his character motivations, so his character seems more reactionary than proactive.
- Kazul -
There is some possibility here, but is half-orc too monstrous for this campaign? Would have liked to hear more about his characters story, but without more he’s just a bit less memorable.
- Whaykim Panuvel -
Ok, I have to admit, I was a little unsure at first, but this guy really blew me away. Whereas every other player has snapped necks, caused riots, or seduced the guards to get out of the salt mines, this guy just out right bribed them. That took me by surprise so hard that I almost died laughing. There is definitely potential here, but there is also a lot of skill overlap with the rest of us. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.
On a side note, I really want to see him kill someone with a quill through the eye.
As far as Serens concerns about slavery, well, remember, Nahia was convicted for slave trading too. The trait basically says that it happens but it is rather rare.
However, as much as I like him, I am not so sure why he would be sent to us, especially in a time like this.
Easily my #5 choice.
- Azin -
Eh, I wasn’t too impressed with this one. No real motivations given for the character, no insight into the characters mind. Just the actions that happened around him.
- Myras -
Ok, this one isn’t bad. I can see why he would want to enter society and show all those [fatherless people] just how awesome he is! I would have liked to see more story, but what is written is pretty good.
- Davor Elan -
I’m with Seren on this one. Too short and didn’t adapt to the rules.
Okay I hate to do things this way but I’m also getting a replacement for Zerik. His posting rate dropped a lot, he is missing with no notice.
Congratulations you four! I'm really looking forward to working with all of you!
Woot! Reporting in.
So, were we all in the salt mines at the same time? Were there a rash of unrelated escapes? Different mines? Should we rework our escapes so that they all fit together?
Can't wait to get started. :)
Forgot to roll my HP. Lets get that done.
Not bad.
Glad to be here!
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Here's hoping to make this game even better.
So I'm assuming you will tie is in to the current story. How far back do we need to read or will a kind soul provide us with a summary of what has happened?
Game on!
Fabian
Just looking through peoples crunch real quick, and some comments:
Lady Rose: Please tell me that HP total is wrong. Have you really not rolled no more than 7 hp out of 3d10?
Fausto: Are you two handing that greataxe? If so, then your to-hit and damage is +1 because of the 1.5 strength.
How far back do we need to read or will a kind soul provide us with a summary of what has happened?
Good question. Not sure what needs to be filled in that won't be filled in in game (hopefully via RP).
But I'll give you a quick summary:
Some people thought that they could stop us. They were wrong...
Yeah, I know, triple post (suck it forum etiquette!).
Some basic things to know:
- Required posting rate is 1/day except during weekends.
- If you know you won't be able to post, drop us a line and we'll generally GM PC you for a bit.
- We split loot evenly, with an extra share for the party fund.
- If you want to keep a found item you have to pay it's sale cost (half for most things, full for trade goods, art objects, etc), which gets split amongst the other party members.
- While I don't think we ever formally agreed on it, we try to keep descriptions of horrific acts to things board appropriate and somewhere between R and PG-13 movie rating. While I have probably pushed this some, I tend to hide my more graphic things behind a spoiler tag with a descriptive warning.
- The Leadership feat is approved, but if all the cohorts get to be too much then we may only be able to take one with us at a time.
- There is an alternate form of leadership available, described previously in this discussion thread.
- When crafting regular items, the result is sp in a day, not in a week.
- Everyone needs to have a status bar similar to mine or Serens.
- Though we often forget, during combat, try to post any status effects, buffs, or debuffs on you and how far along they are in an ooc. Something like this:
- Also, try to ooc comment what round this post is for:
- DM Aku will link to a map with minis when necessary. Feel free to move your mini and if a specific movement path is necessary, try to designate it with arrows.
- On the map will be status windows. Try to keep yours up to date. If you want to update someone elses, make sure to comment that you did in your post.
- If you want feats or spells from something other than the Core Rulebook, you need to show RP development towards learning or gathering it first. This is triply true about multi-classing.
- Generally speaking, you can continue RP after we have moved on by putting it all in appropriately named spoiler tags: [Spoiler=Earlier - Grumblejack
- DM Aku will roll reactionary skill checks that happen out of combat for you and in secret. So make sure that the bonuses listed in your status and sheet are up to date with the current circumstances.
- However, nearly all (if not all) rolls are publicly shown once in combat.
- Grumblejack is awesome.
HP fixed. You ninja'd me. :)
I saw. : )
MUCH better numbers. I was worried there for a second that my witch would have more HP than your 16 con Anti-paladin... : /
Lady Rose - In relation to the escape, it actually played slightly into my recommendations. My thoughts on order of escape:
Order of Escape from Salt Mines-
1) Sourat Vi'Sapor (to give sufficient time to heal, plus no one died during the escape, in fact blame could be shifted to Mitran priest so no alarms raised).
2) Lady Rose (could be blamed on guard being stupid and falling for her seduction, he is in her clothes after all, basically served him right. Plus no direct killings so still no additional suspicions or alarms raised.)
Next two happen concurrently:
3a) Mysty - Beheaded guard Distraction, Let's assume this is discovered before she can slip out of the mine completely (she's somewhere in the courtyard when it's discovered). Fire in courtyard to distract guards from Fausto and her escape.
3b) Fausto - A burned beheaded guard would be sufficient reason to whisk Marissa to the surface along with Fausto. Inmates seeing turmoil, use key given by Lady Rose to try escape as guards are distracted, give the guards reason to turn around and try and quell the action in the mine, while leaving Marissa above ground. Fausto kills her, and leaves to escape. Mysty sets fire to the pens, should give guards sufficient distraction to give both of them ample time to escape.
Everyone free and clear, with no impending guards chasing them. Only Marissa, and one guard dead (plus one who I'm sure is beaten badly and heckled wildly by his fellow guards for falling for an inmate). So someone at the mine would get chastised heavily about the escapes, but they may deem the escaped inmates are just not worth the cost with so many still locked up, and only minor loss of life.
I'll check crunch and all that tomorrow. I'm tired and need to be up early, see you all then, looking forward to our new adventures.